One of BBC One’s most popular drama series has begun filming its spin-off show in Manchester this week.
The A Word – which follows a young boy and his family to show how they cope with the revelation that he has autism spectrum disorder – drew in millions of viewers and developed a dedicated fanbase after running for three series between 2016 and 2020, and now, production has started on its spin-off.
The new miniseries Ralph & Katie will continue the story of two fan-favourite characters, Ralph and Katie Wilson.
The BBC has revealed that each of the six episodes in the series will feature a different story focusing on the domestic challenges the couple face, which are said to be “issues faced by all newlyweds, but with an added ingredient in the mix being that the couple have Down’s syndrome”.
Leon Harrop and Sarah Gordy both reprise their roles for the series.
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Pooky Quesnel will also reprise her role as Ralph’s mum Louise, Nigel Betts and Sherry Baines as Katie’s parents Steve and Clare, and Matt Greenwood as Tom.
Ralph & Katie has started filming in Manchester & the Lake District 👏
It follows the story of Ralph (Leon Harrop) & Katie (@sarah_gordy) from @theaworduk as they face the usual newlywed challenges, with the added ingredient in the mix being that the couple have Down’s Syndrome. pic.twitter.com/4DG5X1B3Tk
Other new and familiar faces heading to Manchester’s Space Studios and stunning locations in the Lake District include Craig Cash as Brian, Dylan Bradys as Dan, Jamie Marie Leary as Emma, Sam Retford as Gary, and Daniel Cerqueira as Dr Graves, who have all played parts in a number of popular Manchester and Northern-based shows in recent years.
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The groundbreaking spin-off series is created by Peter Bowker, who is also lead writer, as he was on The A Word, while the rest of the writing team is made up entirely of new and emerging disabled writers.
Those writers are Amy Trigg, Annalisa Dinnella, Genevieve Barr, Tom Wentworth, and Lizzie Watson.
Speaking as production began, Peter Bowker said: “The writing team have delivered a series of scripts that are full of joy, humour, and authenticity, and it will be exciting to see the wonderful cast bring them to life under the direction of the force of nature that is Jordan Hogg.”
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Ralph & Katie will continue the story of two fan-favourite characters, Ralph and Katie Wilson / Credit: BBC North
In a bid to encourage a more inclusive future behind and in front of the camera, ITV Studios and BBC Drama are teaming up with TripleC DANC on Ralph & Katie to offer behind the scenes access for those across the North West who are deaf, disabled, autistic and neurodivergent, and interested in how a high-end TV production is made to kick-start their career.
Those on the programme will have access to meetings with various heads of departments as they discuss scripts, location scouting, scheduling, budgeting, set design, and wardrobe, and paid trainees have also been recruited in casting, ADS, Production, Costume, Unit Stills, and EPK.
“We’re embarking on something that’s never been attempted in our industry,” explained award-winning series director Jordan Hogg, who is himself disabled.
“We’re changing the world.”
Ralph & Katie will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.
Featured Image – BBC
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Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Hilarious study names Manchester as one of the UK’s most hungover cities
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most hungover cities, according to a hilarious new study.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all had one of those mornings – or a lot more than one, for many of us.
The kind where you wake up regretting ordering that last pint, or your decision to mix your drinks, questioning every life choice while desperately Googling ‘hangover cures that actually work’… but it turns out that some UK cities are way more prone to struggling with hangovers than others, and Manchester is one of them.
In a bid to uncover where in the country people are searching for hangover cures the most, alcohol-free beer brand Mash Gang has crunched the numbers and analysed more than 5.5 million Google searches across every city.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most hungover cities / Credit: Kraken Images (via Unsplash)
We always knew Manchester would be close to the top, but in this instance, we’ve actually just missed out on the number one spot, as our city has officially been ranked the second most hungover in the UK, just behind the ‘undisputed hungover capital’ itself, which is Birmingham.
According to the study, whether it’s the legendary Northern Quater or the city’s famous Gay Village, us Mancs are waking up with sore heads a lot more than anywhere else in the North.
While the North can often be underrepresented in top 10 lists, this doesn’t seem to be the case here, as other major cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, and Sheffield have all earned their place.
UK’s top 10 most hungover cities
Birmingham
Manchester
Liverpool
Bristol
Leeds
Newcastle
Sheffield
Plymouth
Coventry
Wolverhampton
It’s all according to a new survey finding the city with the most sore heads in the country / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
On the other end of the scale, Ripon has emerged as the UK’s least hungover city, closely followed by Carlisle, which means that if you’re looking for a place to escape temptation, or to just find people who actually get up early on weekends, then you know where to head to.
As well as the top 10 list, Mash Gang’s analysis data also showed just how much people are looking for hangover solutions, as in just the past month alone, there have been 178,000 searches for “hair of the dog,” and the search term “hangover food” has been looked up 72,000 times in the same period.
On top of this, searches for ‘zebra striping’ – which is a method where people alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to lessen the impact of drinking – have also increased by 424% in the past quarter.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd February 2022 
